time of day and during the right season. It also enables you to pair foods together more easily and get the most out of seasonal produce. In short, knowledge of Italian history and geography helps to give you the mindset that an Italian naturally brings to the kitchen.
What Italians consider to be their cuisine varies greatly from how others around the world describe it. True Italian cuisine is recognized as the regional foods and recipes that make up the traditional classics that have been enjoyed for decades, centuries, and even millennia. There are a few ubiquitous and world-renowned creations that Italians claim as their collective own, such as pizza, pasta, risotto, gelato, and panettone. In the modern world, those recipes are carefully guarded, protected, and considered to be part of the culinary patrimony of the nation. These edible ambassadors make Italians proud when they are successfully recreated around the globe.
If you scratch a bit deeper beyond the surface, however, you will note that each of those dishes is linked to a particular place, such as the pizza of Naples, or they come from a larger category, such as pasta, which has different regional variations. Italians describe their own food by region, town, or city. Ragù Bolognese (from Bologna), Torta Caprese (from Capri), Carciofi all Romana (from Rome), and so on. As a result, to truly understand Italian cuisine, you must learn about Italy’s regions, culture, and history.
Food in every Italian region is the most highly celebrated aspect of the culture. Appreciated for being a daily source of pleasure, joy, and health, Italian food is a way of life. Chapter 2 discusses how time-honored traditions in agriculture and in cooking have woven their way into the tapestry of Italian daily life. By reading that chapter, you get a better sense of the role that food plays, beyond fuel, in an Italian’s life. By learning about highlights in Italian culinary history, you quickly can identify how the cuisines of various regions have both common denominators and unique qualities.
Regardless of which Italian region you spend time in, you’ll be able to taste the layers of history that it has experienced. From ancient indigenous inhabitants, to foreign rulers, and fancy courts, many factors have contributed to make Italian cuisine a microcosm of the influences that have shaped the course of Mediterranean history. The mere notion of food as culture itself has, for centuries, enhanced Italian cuisine and enabled it to become the most popular cuisine in both the world and the United States today.
Many newcomers to “real” Italian cuisine from abroad are surprised to learn that some of their favorites — which may have been Italian-American dishes or just improperly prepared recipes — are actually not part of a true Italian repertoire. Others still are surprised to learn just how simple, straightforward, mouthwatering, and healthful Italian food can be.
Back to Basics: Applying Ancient Strategies in the Modern Kitchen
Some cooking trends that are perfectly in line with our modern, fast-paced, even urban lifestyles, believe it or not, began in antiquity! Ancient ways of adding flavor to foods, the notion of culinary medicine, building on base recipes, making smart use of leftovers, and using seasonal produce are a few of my favorites. Thousands of years ago, aromatics such as garlic, onions, and leeks along with fresh herbs and spices were the “go to” flavor enhancers for recipes. Since these ingredients were available, they were combined in ingenious ways to not only make food taste better, but also provide relief and protection from illnesses and disease. Long before “culinary medicine” was a recognized term, food was used to heal the body and keep illness at bay. This concept fits perfectly with modern trends and provides easy and inexpensive ways to flavor our recipes without excess calories or fat.
For centuries, good Italian cooks relied on base recipes. Many of these, such as stock and bread crumbs, were created by using kitchen leftovers efficiently. You can use these same methods to cut down on your carbon footprint while saving money and eating more wholesome foods. Up until very recently, Italian cooks did not have the “luxury” of using out-of-season produce. Forced to use what was local and seasonal, their diet was based upon the nutrients that their bodies craved the most during each season. Even though modern supermarkets provide just about any food any time of year, health experts agree that local and seasonal ingredients do our bodies the most good. The more that we can incorporate these types of “ancient” practices in our modern lives, the better off our wallets, waistlines, and environments will be for it.
Building on base recipes
Chapter 3 discusses the importance of base recipes in Italian cuisine. It may sound boring to an avid cook, desiring to quickly recreate their favorite dishes, to take a few hours to create these “recipes,” but I can attest that it is time well spent.
For millennia, Italian home cooks have been doing “inactive cooking” by simmering stock on the stove, soaking beans, and other activites while they were busy attending to other things. They saved leftover bread to make bread crumbs, crostini, and bruschetta. They also cooked beans and legumes on a weekly basis to be added to recipes as needed. By adopting these ancient practices, you can be sure to not only make good use of time and money, but create healthier and tastier dishes as well.
Enjoying the seasons at the table
Seasonality at the Italian table refers to two things. The first is the time of year and the produce and types of fish and meat that are available during that period. The second involves the role that seasonal foods play in celebrating Italian holidays and Sunday suppers. Thanks to open air markets, butcher shops, and fish markets or marinas in most Italian neighborhoods, the average person in Italy is keenly aware of what is in season and when, and it is those foods that are most sought after. Television cooking shows, cookbooks, and food magazines in Italy all discuss seasonality and feature seasonal items. Because Italian holidays fall during the same seasons each year, certain seasonal foods (such as artichokes, asparagus, and lamb at Easter) are always on the menu. Familiarizing yourself with what is in season will set you up for success in the Italian kitchen.
Featuring seasonal foods
Did you know that eating seasonal produce is actually better for your body than eating fruits and vegetables that are out of season? Italians are consistently ranked among the healthiest people in Europe, and their eating and lifestyle patterns are to be thanked. Chapter 4 teaches how our bodies actually crave (nutritionally) the foods that grow in various times of the year as well as how to prepare them and plan meals around them. Since ancient times, Italian menus have always been produce-forward and dependent upon the seasons. Learning to cook and meal-plan this way is good for your wallet and your waistline, while ensuring that you eat the most fully flavored produce.
Even if you’ve never planned meals seasonally before, the tips in Chapter 4 will enable you to make the most of spring, summer, winter, and fall menus. Because the seasons fall at different times of year in different places, and various locations have unique agricultural patterns, it is best to plan what works for your growing conditions. A true Italian cook can always
